Cooperative epithelial phagocytosis enables error correction in the early embryo.

Errors in early embryogenesis are a cause of sporadic cell death and developmental failure. Phagocytic activity has a central role in scavenging apoptotic cells in differentiated tissues. However, how apoptotic cells are cleared in the blastula embryo in the absence of specialized immune cells remains unknown.

The nucleus measures shape changes for cellular proprioception to control dynamic cell behavior.

The physical microenvironment regulates cell behavior during tissue development and homeostasis. How single cells decode information about their geometrical shape under mechanical stress and physical space constraints within tissues remains largely unknown. Here, using a zebrafish model, we show that the nucleus, the biggest cellular organelle, functions as an elastic deformation gauge that enables cells to measure cell shape deformations.